Science

Science and human sexualityWhen we talk about the morality of different kinds of sexual interests, the question of ‘what science tells us’ often comes into the conversation. The point usually being made is that we now know much more about human sexuality than in biblical times so we need to revise or update our thinking about the moral issues as well.Read more

Are people ‘born gay’?The notion that people are ‘born gay’ provides a good example of how preliminary scientific findings can be seized upon, politicised and then embedded in culture as an indisputable fact that ‘everybody knows’ is true. Twenty years ago a study claimed to have found a specific gene linked to male sexual orientation. It was never replicated but it helped to spawn the idea that there are just two groups of people – gay or straight – whose sexual interests and attractions are somehow fixed at birth.Read more

Can sexuality change?Some people do experience a shift in sexual attractions from homosexual to heterosexual or vice versa. In a recent paper for the Archive of Sexual Behaviour, Michael King (who is the chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Gay and Lesbian Special Interest Group and openly homosexual) and others looked at the correlation between how men and women described their sexual orientation, and alongside that gave a report of their sexual partnership status.Read more